Alta High School - Accipitor Yearbook (Sandy, UT)

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Holocaust Drama Advised By Local Synagogue Walking into the school the ater on the nights of November 12, 13, and 14, one felt an ex- citement to see the drama de- partment's production of I Nev- er Saw Another Butterfly. To set the mood, German NAZI soldiers greeted the audience at the doors. The auditorium was hung with the NAZI coat of arms: the Swastika. The cast practiced for long hours for two months to pre- pare for the play. Practices were held during 0 period and then again after school till 5 or 6 o’clock. Friday the 13th turned into the typical thought of the day. The night of the performance, a breakdown in the electrical sys- tem necessitated the use of hand cues. Unintentional flash- ing and fading of lights, created After the Nazis forbade the Jewish children to attend school in Terezin, they played games and sang. Christy Birch watches the others play Blind Man's Bluff. some confusion for the actors. The audience still showed their approval of the performance with a standing ovation. The drama told the story of the Jewish people in the WWII ghetto of Terezin. The main character. Raja (Laura Kedding- ton) is a small girl who grows up while living in the ghetto. The cast sought the help of the members of the Salt Lake Synagogue to add authenticity to the production. The advice given the cast help them create a more accurate picture of the pain and hurt of the Jewish prisoners. The play showed to many who had no ideas, how sorrowful the times were and how scared and confused the world was. The first performance of the play was given for a Syna- gogue. Men and women who had lived through Auschwitz saw the performance and were overwhelmed. This audience was very impressed that the dramatists would attempt such a difficult play. Drama teacher, Robyn Bish- op, found the most challenging aspect of the play was getting the cast into the mood of the time of the drama. But actors slowly understood the impor tance of the plays message. ‘‘When Raja said, I am a Jew and I survived, it depressed me because of the meaning behind the words, Janette Wiseman commented about the insights the play provided for her. Robyn Bishop believes that the play and the cast made a statement to the community about hatred and prejudice, and in the end it will be people like the cast of I Never Saw Another Butterfly that will pre- vent another Holocaust. Because the Nazis wouldn’t let them talk to each other. Raja and Honza would meet at night when they wouldn't get caught. Right after their marriage. Irca (Cindy Leggett) and Pavel (Mitch Hall) are tak en to the train headed for Auschwitz. They say their final goodbyes to Pa vel's parents (Denny Kopp and Mike Robinson). As she reads the poem I Never Saw Another Butterfly. Raja (Laura Ked dington) remembers Terezin and her long dead friends Studying with books brought by Jew- ish teachers. Reed Beardsley and Jerre Chiles take Part in Irena Synkova’s school. Nazi S.S. Guards. Ryan Smith and Scott Hardy, make their plans for the genocide of the Jews The Guards vio- lently pushed and harassed both the actors and audience before the play. School Play • 17

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Aeid looq s • 91

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Guys And Dolls On December 2, 3, and 4 there were a lot of shivering, senseless, and nervous stu- dents wandering about in Alta High’s halls because those were the days that tryouts for the Musical Guys and Dolls, were held. Any performer would feel that way if he had to get up in front of fifty or more people- including the director, Robyn Bishop, and the musical director, Mr. Quigley, to sing, dance, and act his heart out. Out of the 330 students that tried out, only 80 were select- ed. Before I went up I told my- self- Don’t blow it again, -be- cause I've blown it before, re- veals Adriane Rice. Once a stu- dent makes it in the play, past the stiff competition, he has to go to the early morning, zero hour rehearsals. The play pro- gressed greatly over the months of practice, from bare- ly being able to remember when to walk on stage, to being able to act as carefully well-de- veloped characters. As the actors were progress- ing, the set and orchestra worked on achieving the game goal, perfection. The stage crew started working on the set about a couple of weeks before Christmas and worked right up until a few days before the first performance. They spent around one thousand dollars on the material for the detailed scenes of New York on the re- volving set. I enjoyed being in the musical because I memo- rized all the lines, comments Stefan Wells, a member of the orchestra. Each performance was slightly different. The first was during the day for elementary school kids. A lot of the humor in the play was not understood by the audience but they did enjoy a few of the little things, such as when Wendal Thayne changed the time on the clock. After that performance was the real test, acting in front of friends and family. If anything went wrong they couldn’t let them know it. Slipping micro- phones. falling flats and dress- es, broken freezes, and forgot- ten lines were almost common occurances that the audience never noticed because of the actor’s professional way of dealing with them. These per- formances made all of the hard work worthwhile. Gambling in a New York sewer. Shawn Whittaker and Derek Overstreet spend all their money on a crap game. The gamblers all had little idiosyncrancies that made their scenes interesting, such as Derek s pipe. ‘‘Oh!” exclaims Tania Lythgoe as she strips off her mink and pearls. The au dience was especially attentive to the Hot Box night club scenes. Singing about the dumb things guys do for dolls. Benny Southstreet (How ard McComber) and Nicely Johnson ' (Keith Falcon) moan about Nathan’s ne gleet of the crap game on account of that Miss Adelaide 18 Musical